January 2, 2012

We just returned from our 11 day, family holiday vacation at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore in Oahu. We were truly sad to have to leave ~ mostly because we had a fantastic time learning how to surf! At the Hans Hedemann Surf Adventures desk, we were welcomed by a friendly, energetic and knowledgeable staff who were more than happy to take on the challenge of teaching a family of beginners this challenging sport.

Jamie, at the front desk, accommodated our schedule (as we had other activities planned) and set my husband and I up with Scott as our surf instructor. Scott has tremendous skill and strength, expert knowledge of the surrounding surfing areas, abundant patience and a reassuring teaching style, which can make any novice feel like they've been surfing for years. He is a true professional and an asset to your company! Scott educated us on surf safety, etiquette and respect for the ocean ~ he was also our protector. Scott was scheduled for a day off on a day we wanted to surf, but, he decided to come in anyway, just for us! I was not particularly thrilled about surfing to begin with, but did so to be on board with the rest of my family ~ and by the end of my first lesson, Scott made it possible for me and also my husband to stand up on surfboards and ride waves all the way into the beach! Needless to say, we had a blast!

Jamie then set our kids, 11 year old daughter and 9 year old son, up with Rocky as their surf instructor. This was a great fit because he was so kind, patient and extremely skilled. Then, they were assigned to Andrew as their surf instructor throughout the rest of our stay. This was another perfect fit because he had so much energy and excitement about surfing, more than anyone I've ever seen! He loves being out in the ocean and it shows! Our kids had so much success getting up on their surfboards and told us that surfing was the best part of the trip by far! Rocky and Andrew make surfing fun and appealing. After first meeting them, I can see how people of any age and skill level would want to give it a try.

Scott, Rocky and Andrew worked exceptionally hard paddling with us (and for us) through the waves so we could get maximum "ride time". Scott also took the time to take our little 5 year old daughter out to ride a couple of waves and she bragged to everyone she saw how she was a surfer now! We had definitely caught the "surfing bug" and kept coming back to surf ~ a total of 7 days! Scott and Andrew were excited to participate in our "Family Surf-Off" on our last day, which, unbelievably, I won!

We even convinced my brother-in-law and father-in-law to take lessons as well and they really loved their instructor, Brent. He was encouraging and patient, well beyond our expectations. I must give a thumbs up to Mike, who was always so friendly and helped with our kids one day. I also loved Katy, the surf photographer, who took a ton of amazing pictures and had them ready on disc right after our lessons. She took our little 5 year old daughter under her wing and even let her watch as she downloaded the pictures.

To sum it all up, we LOVED our Turtle Bay "surfing" vacation and want to come back again! Soon!

Thank you so much for offering surfing lessons for all skill levels.

We had a blast surfing at the turtle bay location. My wife, son and I all three got up and surfed on our first try. Our surf instructor Jason was awesome. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn how to surf. We were also impressed with the photographer who took ur pictures while we surfed. We have great memmories to take home with us. The best money we spent while in Hawaii. We will be going back again as soon as we can

What a fantastic experience we had yesterday, going out with Shawn to surf Waikiki Beach!! After about 30 mins of professional instruction in the shop, we went out and - stood the very first wave!! WOW! Never thought I'd have so much fun the first time I tried this, but we ended up having a blast for a rough 1 1/2 hours! Thanks again to the entire staff at HH, and especially to Shawn who did an excellent job in assuring that this was an experience we would never forget ... Tom and Ross

We just got back from our first Hawaiian vacation. Hands down the best part was taking surf lessons from the Hans Hedemann Surf School at Turtle Bay. We spent the first few days watching all the surfers at the break just outside the hotel and couldn’t wait to try it ourselves. Growing up on Lake Ontario I was a little nervous about getting in the Ocean but everyone that worked there was fantastic and put all my worries at ease. The instructors are very skilled and knowledgeable about all aspects of the sport and are definitely safety oriented. The manager Jamie was fantastic and after talking to him for a while, we decided to sign up for a Semi-Private lesson. Our instructor Scott was great, he went through all the steps until we felt totally comfortable and he even got me standing on my first try. If you need proof don’t worry they take lots of pictures so you can show all your friends back home. We had such a good time that we signed up for another lesson right before we were leaving, now that’s a good way to make sure you sleep on the plane! If you’ve never surfed or only tried it a few times, definitely take some lessons it will make the experience a million times better. Our only regret was not signing up for lessons sooner, next time we plan to surf all week. Thanks Jamie, Scott, Andrew, Spencer, Stacy and all the staff for such an amazing experience.

We wanted to write and let you know that the highlight of our recent trip to The Kahala Resort was signing up to surf with Pete and Kristen. They were very patient, laid back and lots of fun! They got us standing up on our very first waves. It was a great experience and it was awesome hanging out with them in the ocean as well. The fact that this service was there at the resort was an added bonus and well worth it. Thank you for the great memories!

Lindsey and Cheryl

My wife and I stayed at the Turtle Bay resort, our favorite part of our stay was the Hans Surf School! We took surfing lessons with Jamie, Jason, Scotty and Spencer and a paddle board lesson with Rocky. Everyone we met there was very knowledgeable and professional not to mention they were all great at teaching and all seemed to love what they do. I think it made our experience memorable. We look forward to our next trip to Hawaii to continue to surf and enjoy other water activities.

WOW! I did it!

I had a dream to learn surfing. For my first try I chose Hawaii. And I wasn't mistaken: the weather was good, water was perfect for swimming, waves weren't very big but good for practicing. I had 5 days to enjoy myself "surfing". Of course, it's not enough to learn all things and tricks. But I've learned the main thing to love the process itself :). Undoubtedly I couldn't do anything without help and support of good instructors. My big THANKs go to Sean, Chelsea and John. They're doing great job.

Thank you for making my dream come true!

The only sad thing is that Hawaii is too far away form Russia.

Kisses Anna.

Just got home from vacation and my first ever surf lesson. Much appreciation to my instructor Spencer, at the North Shore location. I signed up for a two hour private lesson. Had so much fun signed up for two more. Spencer started me on the basics before I was even in the water. Once out in the water (and a wipe out or two) I put into practice his suggestions and was up by the third try. He made sure I caught a lot of waves! Spencer has so much energy. He is very knowledgeable and motivational. All of the instuctors were informative and supportive. They worked well together and would jump in to help out a student even if that student had another instructor. Thanks to Spencer, Jamie and the entire staff at The North Shore. I highly recommend them and look forward to coming back to learn more from Spencer!

I wish I had this type of lesson years ago. I surfed back in college with my roommates but was never able to get up. James is a very knowledge and fun instructor. Right away he teaches you the basics of what to do, the common mistakes, and surfing safety and etiquette. I tried getting up my first 2 times but wiped out. James knew right away what I was doing wrong, suggested some adjustments and.... I was up and standing on my 3rd try! It was a blast. My wife saw how much fun I had so shes signing up for a lesson next trip. Thanks James for the lesson and fun stories!

Hi I Just wanted to give a big thank you again to your instructor there [Javier], After my first 1 hour lesson with him I was hooked & ready to go again. Javi suggested 2 hours which turned out longer & had me surfing & having a load of fun. At all times he was encouraging & found him to be a great & patient teacher. I would certainly recommend him & your school to any of my mates who will visit Hawaii & I have no doubts that I will be back & look forward to learning more from Javi when I return, Thanks again for a great experience & loads of fun, Now to put it into practice back home in Australia Cheers

I was in Hawaii the last two weeks of July, and we were making trips to three different islands. Waikiki was first and we decided that would be the best place for me to try out surfing. I came to hans because our hotel suggested it. I am soo glad I did, Javier was my instructor and he made my trip one of the most amazing experiences I think I will EVER have. Although all of Hawaii is absolutely gorgeous, I missed surfing on Waikiki the whole time! I just wanted to say thank you to the surf school, but especially to Javier I will never forget it! (:

We were in Waikiki a few weeks ago, visiting from Wisconsin. I really wanted my girls to take surfing lessons while there. A friend who lives there recommended your surfing school. My daughters, ages 11 and 8, had so much fun learning to surf! It was quite the experience for them! The instructors were fabulous! Too bad we don\'t have waves in WI! I would love for them to surf more and they want to surf more too:)